A Plethora of Pouches

I hope this post finds you enjoying what is left of your weekend....

I have found myself model stitching up a storm over the last week...but I did manage to get in a tiny bit of sewing. I finished up eighteen more sewing cases/needlework pouches in a variety of fun fabrics...measuring 4" W x 5.5" H, one is the perfect size for carrying your needlework tools in your project bag...or to hold a small sewing kit...or to easily hold a smart phone and your cash/credit cards...even a passport or iPod fits easily inside. This time I embellished a pile with wool hearts and a pile with wool flowers. I have listed these in my Etsy shop...and more needlebook/scissor cases are next on my list - I have a pile cut and ready to assemble later this week.

Tonight I am back in my stitching nest working on the class project for the Salty Yarns event in October - I have been making good progress and can't wait to share it with you!

Planting Perennials

I know my posts have been few and far between this month - seems I have been busy from early morning until late at night each and every day. This week I made time to get my perennial garden planted. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, will remember this flower bed was constructed last spring when we were doing a bunch of outdoor construction on our home. Before we had all our siding, windows, doors, and deck replaced, we removed the old hedges in the front our our home and built a retaining wall flower bed - when the outdoor work was completed last October, it was too late in the season to plant...so the bed has been pretty much empty (with the exception of some lavender I planted last spring). I knew I wanted a perennial garden...and my dear friend Kimber gave me a wonderful book on perennial gardens for Christmas - which I put to great use in my planning...and both Merry and Kimber gave me some wonderful advice on types of plants. I decided on a mixture of herbs and flowers...along with a knockout rose bush (which I LOVE) and barberry shrub. Everything is finally in the ground and the mulch is down...and I am thrilled. All of the plants have been thriving and starting to bloom/flower....I couldn't be happier (especially since my gardening experience is pretty minimal)! I took a few photos to show you this evening...

I also planted two large containers of annuals and three pots of geraniums this week for the front porch front steps....here are a couple close-up photos I snapped while I was outside with my camera this evening...

I am still plugging away on the project for the Salty Yarns class - the framed portion of the project is nearing completion and there are a of couple coordinating needlework smalls (one of which is a brand new design concept for me) that I will begin later this week. I am also almost finished with the needlework smalls for "Berries, Birds, and Blooms", so I will share those with you soon...

For those of you waiting for more of my Decorative Pin and Button Packs - I listed 55 more in my Etsy shop today - the first batch of 25 sold out before I could even get them all posted in the shop, so if you missed out, now is your chance. I do not have plans to make more in the near future, as I have a pile of items ready to sew and quilt...so when they are gone, it may be a while before they are restocked. More needlebooks, needlecases/pockets, and pincushions will be posted in the next week or so...

Decorative Pin and Button Packages

Those of you who read my blog regularly will not be surprised by this post - it combines several of my favorite things: decorative pins, buttons, fancy ribbons, pretty papers, and gift giving! What you may not know is: I have always been fascinated by Origami - the traditional Japanese art of paper folding...as a child, I checked every book out of the local library on the subject....and I was always trying my hand at folding special treasures. It was only natural to combine all of these loves into decorative pin and button packs. I used pretty papers and cardstocks to fold holders with a pocket on the front and and a pocket on the back...and then tied them together with fancy coordinating ribbon. The front pocket holds a card of 5 decorative pearlized heart straight pins...and the back pocket holds a card of 5 decorative pearlized leaf straight pins...and attached in the center is a poly bag of 24 matching buttons. The holder is tied with approximately a 1/2 yard of decorative ribbon and is placed in a transparent bag tied with tulle. Each packages is different and unique...and I have already put together 25 sets. I will slowly be adding them to my Etsy shop over the next several days. As a member of several stitching/sewing groups, I have always looked for gifts I could make/purchase in bulk, so I could have a present for each member - these are just perfect for that scenario....don't they look adorable all packaged up and ready for gift giving?! I have enjoyed working on these between my hours of model stitching - they have been a nice creative break...

I know several of you are waiting for needlebooks in additional fabrics to be listed in the shop and that will happen in the next couple weeks - I have a pile cut and ready to be pieced together...just give me a little additional time, as I am currently stitching several class models for upcoming events. As always, so many creative ideas and endeavors and not enough "play" time...

Annual Spring Tea at Ashton House

Today I spent the day with my dear friends Merry and Kimber - we had our annual springtime tea at Kimber's amazing home...a cozy 1885 farmhouse, which she lovingly refers to as Ashton House. Every visit to Kimber's beautiful home is such a treat! Merry and I arrived around 10:30 this morning....unpacked all our goodies and got comfortable in Kimber's lovely sitting room, where we spent a couple hours just laughing, catching up, and nibbling on a few delicious little treats. Around 12:30 we headed to the kitchen and dining room and prepared for our special lunch. Kimber provided the lovely ambiance, lots of finger food (including her delicious cucumber watercress sandwiches), and beverages...I provided a fresh fruit salad and my mini sticky buns...and Merry (our resident chef extraordinaire) provided us with a cornucopia of scrumptious delicacies, including: broccoli bacon quiche, deviled quail eggs (so adorable - just larger than a quarter), homemade scones with Meyer lemon curd, and beautiful peach raspberry kolaches. It was such an enjoyable, perfect lunch....and all the while, Poe, Kimber's big black cat was curled up in his royal bed taking an afternoon nap (isn't his "bed" spectacular?!)...

After lunch we chatted for quite some time and I gave Kimber (and Merry too) some tips on making twisted cord. Oh, and I forgot to mention, we all had a few gifts for each other...I brought each of them cute little packages I made from folded cardstock and ribbon that held teabags and cookies...and little packages of my mini sticky buns - Kimber gave us an adorable little wool covered/appliquéd tin with antique buttons inside (since Kimber might be adding these to her line, I can't share a picture with you just yet) along with a quilting book and a cooking magazine - and Merry brought each of us a "brunch box" with all sorts of goodies inside, including: homemade crumpets and a jar of her lemon curd, a jar of fresh local farmed honey, a cute mug, special handmade oatmeal soap and wooden soap dish, and a package of the cutest thank-you cards. While we were sitting in the dining room, I also managed to take a couple snapshots of Kimber's stunning handcrafted dolls...posing perfectly for the camera...

When it was time to leave, Kimber took us on a little tour of her gardens which are already green and will be blooming very soon (quite early for Iowa)...I need to go back in a month or so when it is in full swing and take photos for you, as her gardens are unbelievable! Kimber has the cutest yellow birdhouse emerging from a huge bed of Hosta plants that screams "welcome" to me as I pull in her driveway...she has a lovely fountain with water flowing...and there are a couple miniature cottages waiting to be put in their special places amongst the plants...quaint little details are found throughout the garden paths...I truly envy her gardening knowledge, skills, and green thumb...

It was a picture perfect day with my dear friends...and although my work plate is overflowing right now, I am so glad I took the day off to get recharged...it was just what I needed! I hope you have enjoyed your visit to our annual springtime tea...and that you have the chance to enjoy the company of your close friends...

Beautiful In Blue

Last week I received a request for one of my larger pincushion tuffets in shades of blue...so why make one when I can make fifteen? The special request is on the way to its new home...and there are fourteen more wrapped and ready and listed in my shop. They are all made from the fabric collection Blueberry Crumb Cake by Blackbird Designs for Moda...and each one is unique. They all have wool felt for the bottom of the pincushion and a little wool heart attached with a tiny safety pin (easily removable, if desired)....and they each come with two decorative stick pins. Don't they look pretty all wrapped up and ready to travel?? This past week, I drew up patterns for a couple new pieces I will be working on soon...and I have another project for the shop in progress, so I will post more about these in the coming days/weeks....

I'm cutting this post a little short today - tonight is actually date night for me - my husband surprised me with tickets to the Broadway Show "Memphis" which is currently at the Des Moines Civic Center...he is also taking me to dinner, so I have to get cleaned up and ready to go... 

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and finding a little creative time to work on your own special projects...

A Thank-You Note

Today's blog post is a BIG GIGANTIC thank-you note to all my family, friends, and followers who recently voted for my two "Top 100" quilt block designs in the AccuQuilt Annual Barn Quilt Design Contest. Your votes helped get my design(s) to the final round of judging....and I can now share with you...drum roll please...my red, white, and blue quilt block design won the GRAND PRIZE!! Yep - did you just hear me squeal like a little girl?? I am so very excited to be the big winner...and I can't wait until June when I get to travel to the new AccuQuilt Headquarters in Omaha, NE for the Barn Quilt Unveiling Event where I will get to meet special guest Alex Anderson. It is going be so much fun to see my block enlarged to 17' x 17' and displayed prominently on AccuQuilt Headquarters...seriously, how cool is that?! I also get to take a mini vacation, as part of my prize is  attendance at the 2nd Annual Let’s GO! Quilt Retreat in Fremont, NE...oh, and did I mention I get a $1,000 AccuQuilt shopping spree...can you tell I am just a wee bit excited? I have been giddy since I received the news...I just had to thank all my supporters for the votes...this is a HUGE deal (at least to me)! I will be sure to take my camera on my trip in June and take lots of photos to share with you...thank you all for being a part of my BIG WIN...I heart you...

The Sweetest Surprise

Today the most adorable little needlebook arrived in my mailbox...and inside I found five of the most gorgeous counting pins....what a FABULOUS surprise!! These were made by my dear friend Nataly - she is such a sweetheart - I happened to see some of her counting pins on her blog and mentioned to her in an e-mail how beautiful they were...and what does she do - she surprises me with my very own set! I love how she made the little needlebook with a floral embellishment to hold them...and the colors are absolutely perfect for me...I will definitely be putting these to good use. I just had to share this fun little treat with you, as it completely brightened my day! If you don't follow her already, stop by Nataly's blog to see more of her special treasures and her wonderful needlework...you will definitely enjoy your visit...

More Madeira Needlework Treasures

Over the weekend I made time to finish twelve more pincushion tuffets...this time I made them varying sizes...I kept them all approximately 3.5" wide, but made several different lengths. Still working with my stash from the collection Madeira by Blackbird Designs for Moda for the pincushion tops and my stash of wool felts for the pincushion bottoms, I pieced all of them in an afternoon and stuffed/whipped stitched them closed in an evening.

Still "feeling" this fabric and having plenty on hand, I wanted to play with it a little bit more - so, I decided to make a needlebook with a couple pockets for scissors and tools. I didn't have a pattern, but I knew exactly what I wanted...so I just started collecting supplies and cutting fabrics. Long story short, one needlebook scissor case turned into twelve....and I took great notes, so I could make more in the future. There are two different sizes (one is just a wee bit smaller)...both are embellished with fun trims and special buttons....and they all use sampler print fabric for the two lined pockets inside. I used various wool felts/fabrics for the needlebook pages and the closure is a colored elastic loop that hooks around a button. Each one is a bit different and special...and I really enjoyed the creative process that produced each one.

I would like to thank many of you for your support and encouragement in opening my new Etsy shop - you have been so very kind. I managed to get all twenty-four of these pieces listed in my shop today...so slowly, but surely, I am "filling my shelves"...

Sewing From My Stash

Over the last week, I have been scheduling some sewing time into each day...and that means revisiting my fabric stash. I've realized (probably no shock to you) that I am a bit of a fabric "junkie"...and it feels good to start utilizing fabrics that I have been collecting  hoarding for the last few years. I'm not sure why it is so hard to cut into some of my favorite fabrics...after all, I did buy the yardage for projects...I guess some of them are just too pretty for the rotary cutter. Well, all that must change...I am on a mission, determined to clean up my sewing studio...so, I will slowly but surely start using my fabric collection for it's intended use...

Today, we revisit Madeira by Blackbird Designs for Moda...this is such a wonderful collection - not only the sought after "sampler print" fabrics...but the floral, paisley, and checkered prints too! I have accumulated quite a bit of this particular collection, so I decided to start using it. I put together two more sets of patchwork snack mats (mug rugs) and seven little sewing pouches....and there is still more in the drawer. The snack mats feature patchwork tops from an assortment of Madeira prints and the backs feature a single Madeira print - I like to make them reversible, so I can use either side....and the rick rack trim just adds the perfect little touch. The sewing pouches are fully lined, have two interior pockets, a sewn in Velcro closure, and no raw seams...and I decided to appliqué a hand-dyed wool fabric heart on each as an embellishment. At approximately 4" W x 5.5" H, one is the perfect size for carrying your needlework tools in your project bag...or to hold a small sewing kit...or to easily hold a smart phone and your cash/credit cards...even a passport or iPod fits easily inside. These smalls pouches/cases make me happy! So, now that I have started to cut in to my Madeira fabrics, of course I have some scraps...so that means a few pincushions from this line will be my next project...stay tuned...and yes, many (if not all) of the pieces shown here will be listed in my shop in the near future...